Lawyers representing Kanye West have fired off a cease and desist letter banning the publication of pictures and footage taken from a raunchy video which was allegedly stolen from the rapper's computer.

The Stronger hitmaker's attorneys claim an intimate tape featuring the star was “illegally obtained” and “believed to have been stolen from Mr. West's computer”.

They have sent out legal letters demanding all of the footage be removed from various internet sites because publication constitutes “violations of Mr. West's rights of privacy and publicity”.

The letter from West's lawyer Lisa M. Buckley, obtained by Allhiphop.com, reads, “The screen shot as well as the tape from which the screen shot was taken, were illegally obtained and believed to have been stolen from Mr. West's computer... Posting, advertising, marketing, displaying and otherwise disseminating the stolen screen shot and/or other materials on the tape constitute actionable violations of Mr. West's privacy and publicity.”

The letter goes on to threaten legal action against anyone who publishes the images and demands information about who has been offering the tape for sale.